Monday, 29 September 2014

Mwanza. After years of foot dragging, the three countries sharing Lake Victoria are all set to impose six-month annual fishing shut-downs in a bid to save the dwindling Nile perch and other fish species effective next month, The Citizen can reveal today.

However, it isn’t clear whether the long overdue suspensions would be fully observed by fishermen and fish processors in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

Lake Victoria is shared between Tanzania (51 per cent), Uganda (43 per cent) and Kenya (6 per cent).

The planned six-month annual fishing bans would be implemented over a period of five consecutive years, from 2014 to 2018, according authoritative details gathered by The Citizen.

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Mwanza. For years, the success story of the Nile perch has been told in volumes and verses to the extent that this version of reality overshadows the impact of the fish on Lake Victoria.

But, for a predator fish that survives on Charles Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest because of its feeding habits, the Nile perch has also created another disaster in the world’s second largest fresh water lake.

It is for this reason that some fisheries experts have always believed that there might have been a conspiracy to deliberately plant the Nile perch in Lake Victoria during British colonial rule in the 1950s with the aim of disrupting the lake’s ecological system.

For instance, in May 1997, Seafood International Magazine published an article titled ‘Nile perch: Marketing success or ecological disaster’ in which the author says, “Nile perch first appeared in Lake Victoria in the late 1950s, when it may have been introduced deliberately…The ecology of the Lake has been significantly affected by this action.”

Mwanza. It rose from the ashes to become the backbone of the Lake Zone economy, supporting 300,000 livelihoods directly and another 3 million indirectly, but the Nile perch is now on the brink of extinction, posing a serious threat to Lake Victoria, the world’s second largest fresh water lake.

The Nile perch, or Lates niloticus, as it is known scientifically, is a large freshwater fish introduced in Lake Victoria in 1954 by the British government to increase the fish population and can grow to a length of two metres and weigh 200 kilogrammes.

During the 1980s and early 1990s, before the introduction of fish processing plants in Lake Zone regions, Nile perch, or sangara as it is known among locals here, was virtually valueless and was favoured mainly by ordinary families, which could not afford more expensive fish like tilapia.

Sunday, 21 September 2014

BUNDA. Retired Bunda District Education officer Laban Bituro, has died and four others seriously injured after two cars were involved in an accident at Suguti River on the Mwanza-Musoma highway in Bunda District, Mara Region yesterday morning.

Mara Regional Police Commander Philip Kalangi said the accident occurred after the driver of a Toyota Noah Zedekiah Otieno, refused to stop to allow traffic police to inspect the vehicle at a road block. In the process, he carelessly drove off in a bid to escape from the police.

Saturday, 20 September 2014

South African Airways (SAA) has announced plans to increase flight routes and frequency to Tanzanian destinations that will among other things, boost tourism for the country.

Marking its 20 years of operations in Tanzania late last week, Regional General Manager for Africa and Middle East, Aaron Munetsi, announced plans to have flights from Johannesburg to new routes in the country like Mwanza and Mbeya, among others.

Speaking at the celebratory function held in Dar es Salaam where the airline awarded a wide range of stakeholders with certificates of achievement the Regional General Manager said the airline will continue to increase its activities in the country.

“Apart from enhancing tourism between the two nations, the airline has been and will continue to facilitate development of fisheries, agriculture and mining sectors,” he went on to say.

Sunday, 14 September 2014

Mwanza. The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has released the results of the samples sent to Nairobi to establish the cause of the controversial death of Bertha Boniphace (25) who was hospitalized at Geita District Hospital, Geita Region for what was highly rumoured in Geita town that she was suffering from Ebola fever.

The Medical Officer in-charge for Geita District Hospital Dr Adamu Sijaona, told The Citizen on Saturday yesterday that, the results from Nairobi showed that Bertha was not suffering from the Ebola virus, instead she was suffering from viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF).

“The results show that it was not Ebola as it was previously suspected, although the disease she died from falls in the same group of Ebola, dengue and rift valley fever. It is a tropical disease. Technically, we call it arthropod borne virus spread by a mosquito called Aedes Aegyptyi,” he said.

Tuesday, 9 September 2014

The government through its Medical Stores Department (MSD) has imported five ultra-modern walk-through thermal scanners to facilitate the screening of new arrivals at major airports in a bid to keep the country safe from the deadly Ebola virus.

The Ebola thermal scanners have been installed in the country’s four international airports namely Julius Nyerere International Airport (JNIA) where there are two while Zanzibar, Mwanza and Kilimanjaro International airports have been allocated one each. Speaking to the press in Dar es Salaam yesterday, MSD acting Director General, Mr Cosmas Mwaifwani, said the imported machines would bolster the country’s capability to prevent introduction into Tanzania and the spread of the deadly Ebola that is currently ravaging several West African states.

Monday, 8 September 2014

Equity for Tanzania Ltd (EFTA), a social business company, has called on farmers and traders in Mwanza Region to effectively utilise the machinery loan opportunities that the organisation is currently offering.

Presently, the company’s credit support focuses on supporting farmers and traders to purchase machinery for facilitating their entrepreneurial activities.

The company which was introduced in the country in 2005 has opened a new branch in Mwanza whose operations target farmers, livestock keepers and traders.

Speaking during inauguration of the company’s branch, the branch manager, Mr Peter Temu, said their operations were aimed at solving the problem of lack of capital for business development among the targeted groups.

Along Post Road in Mwanza stands one of the city’s oldest buildings. It hosts the Ladha Meghji Indian Public Library - a house once used in the 1950s by freedom fighters in East Africa to organise the struggle against colonialism.

During my days as the bureau chief for The Citizen and Mwananchi in the Lake Zone, I was a regular visitor to this building. I would chat with Mr Desai - a teacher- turned librarian, who taught in many secondary schools in Tanzania, including the famous Lake Secondary School, a private school that survived the nationalisation wave. Mr Desai and I have known each other since the 1990s, when I taught History and Economics at this school.

Through Mr Desai, I came to know a prominent businessman called Shah, who was also a frequent visitor to the library. He preferred to go there in the evenings. Mr Shah was a humble but wealthy businessman, by Mwanza standards, and was also a regular reader of The Citizen.

Saturday, 6 September 2014

Musoma. Thirty five people died and more than 50 were injured in an accident involving three
vehicles at Sabasaba in Butiama District.

The number of the dead could rise because some of the injured are in critical condition. The accident comes about two weeks after 11 people were killed and scores of others injured in Sikonge District, Tabora Region.

Those injured yesterday included two journalists. Ms Florence Focus, who writes for Mwananchi newspaper, suffered head and leg injuries, and Ms Pendo Mwakyembe of Raia Tanzania was hurt in the head and leg.

Witnesses told The Citizen on Saturday that the accident took place at around 10am along the Musoma-Tarime-Mwanza highway and involved two buses and a Land Cruiser. According to Sabasaba resident Magori Daniel, Mwanza Coach and J4 ply their trade between Sirari in Tarime District and Mwanza. The Land Cruiser, which was heading to Mwanza, plunged into a river nearby.

Tuesday, 2 September 2014

Dar es Salaam. The Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) is investigating the crash of a Kenyan registered plane in Serengeti National Park on Sunday.

The wreckage of the Safari Express Limited Fokker F-27 was sighted yesterday morning about 25 kilometres from the Kenya-Tanzania border. All the three occupants who were on board were burnt beyond recognition, according to Kenyan media reports.

Yesterday, TCAA acting director general Charles Chacha said the wreckage of the aircraft was found within Serengeti National Park, but added that his team was yet to establish if the three people who were on board were killed in the crash.

He said the aircraft departed from Mwanza Airport on Sunday at 7.26pm and that it was expected to land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) at 8.39pm.

Monday, 1 September 2014

Marie Stopes Tanzania (MST), the country’s largest specialist provider of reproductive health services, has launched a new health facility at Nyegezi in Nyamagana District, MwanzaRegion, which will expand health services including family planning, youth friendly services as well as cervical cancer screening and treatment.

According to MST country director Ulla Muller, the new centre has been registered at the level of dispensary and will be operating six days a week to deliver high quality healthcare services to Mwanza residents at affordable prices. Key services include testing and treatment of various diseases.

“Mother and child health clinics, cervical cancer screening and other services will be provided under the ministry of Health guidelines governing operations of dispensaries in Tanzania,” she explained.

It was a warm weekday afternoon when we arrived at the Faulu Beach Resort. The resort is located at the popular Luchelele beach front in Nyegezi in a plush, yet unpretentious environment, nearly 17 kms from Mwanza town.

Tucked behind St Augustine University (SAUT), Faulu Beach Resort is famous for its spectacular location, luxurious accommodation and a restaurant, serving authentic local cuisine. Guests can enjoy extraordinary fish as they dine on the spacious sprawling rocks overlooking Lake Victoria.

We were privileged to sample the popular extraordinary tilapia fish menu as suggested by one of our companions, who resides in Mwanza. And a perfect experience is what the restaurant offered.